


after, in the dark

by ProjectF91



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Gen, Just a short drabble, Tags Are Hard, also i haven't seen like most of the x-files, i am overdramatic, ive literally never written anything before, rated t for t-swearing, so AU it might as well be its own thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:41:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21566266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProjectF91/pseuds/ProjectF91
Summary: a trashed muscle car limps down a desert highway, with no direction and no destinationit matches its driver and her passenger; deciding they are hopelessly lost, she pulls it over to the side of the road
Relationships: Fox Mulder & Dana Scully, Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Kudos: 5





	after, in the dark

The stars shimmered, unobscured by clouds or pollution in the desert sky.  
They shone brightly, but it still wasn't enough to see anything.  
There was no aid from the new moon, either;  
it would have been pitch black were it not for the small electric lamp in the passenger seat, flickering like the stars above.  
She leaned against the car; her pride and joy, now practically a rolling scrap heap.  
Running her hand over a particularly bad dent on the hood, she thought of her own bruises and scrapes.  
As if on cue, a dull pain began to radiate from a dark bruise just below her ribs.  
She groaned, and moved to grab some aspirin and a bottle of water sitting in the front cupholders.  
Only a few pills rattled in their container, matching a thin layer of water that sloshed in its bottle.  
Sighing, she placed the water bottle back in the cupholder, and took the aspirin dry.  
She then opened the hood of her car, only to be greeted with a belch of smoke.  
Surprisingly, the interior was not as bad as she thought it was going to be.  
Nothing looked good, of course, but it would run, and that would have to be enough.  
Despite the good news, she still wanted to scream.  
She wanted to scream at the people who'd done this, who'd hurt her and her car, her baby, just badly enough to scare her.  
She wanted to scream at herself for getting them both dragged into a fight they had nothing to do with.  
She wanted to scream at the man lying in the backseat, his imperceptible gaze trained on the stars, with a face covered in a constellation of scratches and bruises, for being the one to drag her into this.  
She knew she couldn't act on that last fantasy.  
She'd seen the begging and the pain in his eyes, just for a brief moment, as she'd helped him limp into the car.  
She knew all he needed was someone to drive him where he needed to be,  
and that she was the best driver in the country.  
But goddammit,  
why'd it have to be her?  
All she'd ever wanted to do was to drive; to drive faster than anyone and anything else,  
to escape that miserable little town,  
with its dingy diner and run-down homes,  
and its hints of a past she wanted nothing to do with.  
She didn't want to be dragged into some ridiculous alien bullshit,  
and she sure as hell didn't want to die in the process.  
She was so much better off just kicking that fool out of the car and driving on back to whatever was left of her home.  
And yet.  
She carefully lowered the hood of the car, and returned to leaning against it.  
She could feel his eyes on her again, staring blankly.  
"Dana."  
The man creaked out her name.  
"What?"  
She snapped, still contemplating dumping him next to a nearby saguaro and leaving it all behind.  
The man groaned as he tried to lift himself up, only to collapse back onto the seats.  
After a few breathless moments, he finally responded:  
"I'm sorry. For everything."  
Now what was she supposed to say to that?  
She turned to look at him, and for once that imperceptible gaze fell away completely.  
He looked broken, both inside and out.

This had never been his plan, he wanted to tell her.  
He had never wanted to get an innocent involved like this.  
But he needed transportation, and she happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  
All she had needed to do was take him to his enemy, and he would take care of the rest.

But here they were, almost stranded in the desert, defeated and sick and without any way to make things right.

After a long pause, the woman sighed once more.  
"I know. Just..."  
She thought for a moment. The man smirked briefly; it was unlike her to choose her words carefully.  
"Get some rest."  
Nothing else needed to be said.  
The woman sat back down in the driver's seat, and started the car.  
It took a few tries, but eventually the engine dragged itself back to life.  
She opened the glove box and dug around for a bit, pulling out a faded map.  
It would be a long drive to the nearest rest stop, and they would need supplies for the rest of the journey.  
She took one last glance at the man in back, and made a silent promise.  
They were going to make it out of this.  
Alive.  
And together.  
The car pulled back onto the road and sped off into the night, the road ahead illuminated by a single cracked headlight.

**Author's Note:**

> i did it  
> i wrote a fanfiction  
> are you happy now  
> maybe ill continue this  
> i certainly have the ideas for it  
> let me know if this sucks or not  
> sorry i kept reposting it i just don't understand how tags work


End file.
